


Isn't This Why We Came? (Tell Me If You Feel It Too)

by ifwallscouldspeak



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Femslash February, First Dates, Fluff, Jughead Jones: Conspiracy Nut, useless bisexuals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 06:16:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13541475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifwallscouldspeak/pseuds/ifwallscouldspeak
Summary: Toni can’t quite figure out what Veronica’s up to, but she’ll be damned if she lets her get away with - with whatever the hell she’s doing.(Inspired by the prompt, “no, no, it’s my treat.”)





	Isn't This Why We Came? (Tell Me If You Feel It Too)

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from “Girls Like Girls” by Hayley Kiyoko. 
> 
> Takes place sometime after Pickens Day, slightly AU where Veronica and Archie aren't dating. 
> 
> Written for my personal [Femslash February](http://lo-cotidiano.tumblr.com/tagged/jennifer+does+femslash+february) challenge :)

+++

 

Toni can’t quite figure out what Veronica’s up to, but she’ll be damned if she lets her get away with - with whatever the hell she’s doing.

“Don’t you think she’s up to something, though?” Toni asks Jughead.

They’re in the classroom he had set up for their Swords and Serpents club - she still can’t believe Weatherbee would ban all ‘gang paraphernalia’ but be dumb enough to approve this name, but whatever - doing basically everything but playing games. Jughead’s working on something or the other for Betty, like he always is, papers spread out across three desks and his eyes hyper-focused on what’s in front of him.

“It’s Veronica Lodge,” he says in the same voice he always uses when he talks about her: three parts disdainfully and one part admiringly. “She’s always up to something.”

“Yeah, but what?” Toni asks.

Jughead shrugs. “Who knows? But she’s probably plotting world domination or something. And like a kindly shepherd steering her sheep to the slaughterhouse, we will all go willingly.”

Toni rolls her eyes. “You’re so unbelievably dramatic.”

“But I’m not wrong,” Jughead says. “Ask anyone - everyone likes Veronica, despite her shady past. Even Cheryl Blossom likes Veronica.”

And he’s got a point there.

Toni’ll be the first to admit that there’s something about Veronica that she really likes. She’s not sure what it is, exactly; though she’s sure if she asked anyone else, they wouldn’t be able to tell her what they like about Veronica, either. Because she walks around with her too-short skirts and her serious dark eyes and her silky black hair like she owns the place - and maybe she does, she is a _Park Avenue Lodge_ after all - but her personality is so warm. And her smile is cute and bright and she’s been nothing but welcoming to all the Southsiders. Toni feels like no matter where she turns, there Veronica is, trying to make sure she’s alright. Helping her open her locker when she forgets the combination, giving her lotion to share after gym class, walking her to the bus stop after school.

Even after Toni and the Serpents interrupted her Pickens Day performance, Veronica had actually apologized to her. They were walking in the hallway to English together, when Veronica had stopped her short, hand tugging gently on her wrist. _I think it was really brave,_ she’d said, voice soft. _And I’m sorry that my dad - that he did what he did, turning your protest into - into a sound bite._

Toni frowns now. “Okay. But what does her plan for world domination have to do with inviting me to dinner on Friday night?”

Jughead shrugs, looking like he’s already done with this conversation. “Guess you’ll have to go and find out.”

And fine.

Toni can be patient, alright? She can lay low in the tall grass, or whatever the hell Jughead had been spouting earlier. She can’t really remember because she and Sweet Pea had been rolling their eyes at each other. Honestly. Sometimes Jug takes the reptilian metaphors a little too seriously.

The point is: by Friday night, she’s sure she’ll have Veronica Lodge all figured out.

 

Except, of course, she doesn’t.

 

Veronica leans over the table, stealing Toni’s fork and spearing her tiramisu before taking a huge bite. Toni stares as she puts the fork back into her plate, a perfect red lipstick stain on the tines. They’ve been here for two hours already, having eaten their appetizers - _amuse-bouche,_ Veronica had called them, _compliments of the chef_ \- dinner and dessert, and she still has no idea what she’s doing here, at this fancy Northside restaurant.

The worst part of it isn’t the restaurant, though.

The worst part is that she’s actually kind of having fun. Veronica is as funny and charming as she usually is, only this time, it’s just the two of them. Tucked into a corner candlelit booth, swapping stories and making each other laugh. More than once, even, Toni’s sure she’s caught Veronica staring at her lips with pointed interest. And Toni has mostly been trying her hardest not to stare at Veronica’s cleavage. But it’s difficult, because it’s either stare at her breasts or at her face, which is equally as beautiful and as distracting.

The longer she sits with Veronica, the more butterflies she gets in her stomach.

She’s not sure how much more of this she can take, honestly.

She’s not hyper-paranoid the way Jughead is or super relaxed the way Fangs is or even bold and charming the way Sweet Pea is. She’s just Toni, and she likes when things are clear-cut. She likes to know where she stands so she can plan and execute her own offensive. But so far, Veronica hasn’t given her any signs of why they’re really here and what she wants.

How is she supposed to know what to do next if she has no idea what to do now?

Veronica takes a sip of her red wine. “Anyway, I really like this place because it reminds me of this French bistro that my mom and I used to -”

“Cut the crap, Veronica,” Toni blurts out suddenly, fists clenched on her lap.

Veronica blinks back at her, lips parting slightly. “Pardon me?”

“What do you want?” Toni asks.

Veronica frowns. “What do I want?”

“Yes!” Toni tries to keep her voice down. “Why are we here?”

“I thought...” Veronica stutters for a moment. “I thought we were eating dinner?”

“Yes,” Toni presses. “But why?”

“Because… I asked you on a date?” Confusion is clearly written all over Veronica’s face. “And you said yes?”

It’s at that exact moment that the waiter comes over, smoothly placing the check onto the table. In her surprise, Toni automatically reaches for it. She’s not exactly sure why - Veronica had stressed earlier that she would pay, so Toni didn’t have any money on her, besides the wrinkled twenty in her bra for emergencies - but she’s not sure what else to do. Her fingers are just closing around the bill when Veronica takes it from her. Her fingers graze over Toni’s as she tugs the leather book away, pulling it onto her side of the table. Sparks light up Toni’s skin, going up her arm and making her blush.

“No, no, it’s my treat,” Veronica says. “Uhm.”

Her lips are pressed together into a thin line, and Toni can’t quite read the look on her face. Hurt, maybe; confusion, definitely. Veronica’s eyes scan over Toni’s, and she wonders what she sees there. Sweet Pea had always said that Toni’s emotions can be read all over her face, because her eyes are too big and expressive. Toni hopes that for once, that isn’t true. Because right now, the butterflies in her stomach have gone into over-activity and all she can think is _holy crap, holy crap, Veronica Lodge asked me on a date. I’m on a date. With a beautiful girl in a fancy restaurant. Holy crap. Holy. Crap._

“Uhm,” Toni answers back. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

They stare at each other for a few more minutes.

“So you’re not - this isn’t all part of your plan for world domination?” Toni asks.

“My - what?” Veronica’s voice is incredulous.

“You were just - you’re so nice,” Toni blurts out, because apparently her mouth hates her. “You - in school, you kept paying me compliments and taking me to class and then you asked me to dinner and - oh my God, you’ve been flirting with me!”

Toni wants to sink low into her seat but she doesn’t think that would be appropriate, right now. She also wants to run to the bathroom and call Jughead and curse him out. Because apparently, hanging out with him has turned her from a cool, confident girl who knows when someone’s vibing with her, into this conspiracy nut who can’t tell when she’s on a date with a beautiful girl. Across from her, she’s pretty sure Veronica’s muttering something along the lines of, _and I thought I was a useless bisexual._

“So, just to be clear,” Veronica says, voice flat. “When I asked, ‘do you want to go out with me on Friday?’ you thought I was actually asking, ‘do you want to be used as a pawn for an evil scheme I’m concocting’?”

“No!” Toni says. “No, absolutely not -”

“Because I thought I was being pretty clear,” Veronica says. “But maybe not clear enough?”

Toni’s about to open her mouth to protest, that she’s the one who’s obviously messed up here, not Veronica. But then Veronica is sliding over, gently placing her hand on Toni’s thigh. Veronica wets her lips just a little bit, and then takes a deep breath. Toni almost stops breathing altogether, eyes locked onto Veronica’s. She leans in halfway, almost unconsciously.

It’s Veronica who moves the rest of the way in, kissing her softly. She tastes like cherry chapstick and her lips are so extraordinarily soft. Toni’s heartbeat pounds in her ears and she reaches up, cupping Veronica’s face gently.

When Veronica pulls back slightly to speak, Toni feels rather than hears the words.

“I like you, Toni,” Veronica says. “And I’d like to go on dates with you.”

“Oh,” Toni says. “Yes.”

Veronica leans in, kissing her again. “World domination can come after.”

 

+++


End file.
